How to scale your localisation support

A guide to sourcing and managing appropriate vendors

How to scale your localisation support

1
Overview

The challenge

Once you have reached your audience, you'll need to connect with them. To do this, make sure the translation services you use are sensitive to the technical and cultural nuances of the language used by your export markets. That way, you'll engage with your audience in the way you intended.

Your aim

To identify and manage vendors who will deliver tailored translation services for your website. This will help ensure you speak to your customers in their language and harmonise your brand worldwide.

How to go about it

The guidelines below show a systematic approach to the translation services onboarding and management process.

Before you select a vendor, ask your team what is needed by considering these questions:

Languages

What are your target languages? Do you expect this language list to grow?

Volume

What’s your initial word count? How often will you submit new content?

Timeline

What is your timeline according to the service you need and your volume of content?

Platform

What system will you use to create and house content, e.g. Wordpress?

2
Identifying appropriate vendors

By completing the programme steps in this guide, you’ll have a broader idea of what kind of vendor is best for you. These steps move from basic vendor sourcing towards more advanced, fully-developed vendor management strategies.

Step 1: Research vendors

Do a Google search for translation services. Check out each vendor’s website, and consider the following:

What services do they offer? Do they promote any services over others?

Who are their clients? Are they mostly large, small, or both?

What experience do they have working with similar companies to yours?

What languages does the vendor provide?

Where is the company headquartered? Do they have anyone in your timezone?

When was the company founded?

Who founded the company? Do they have expertise in a certain market?

Do they share any pricing information?

Step 2: Identify vendor services and types of vendors

Standard translation vendors usually offer translation, desktop publishing, quality verification, and project management. These vendors come in two main types:

Single-language vendors (SLVs)

These offer services in a small subset of languages, typically one to a few regional languages. SLVs often cost less than multi-language vendors and are a good option if you want to localise content into only one to three regional languages.

Multi-language vendors (MLVs)

These offer global coverage and provide a one-stop shop for all localisation needs. MLVs can handle multiple projects across regions at the same time. They usually use a combination of SLVs, freelancers, and full-time linguists to provide their services.

Step 3: Identify the type of vendor(s) you need

Consider the following to determine the type of vendor you need. Keep in mind that you may need multiple SLVs or even multiple MLVs to complete your localisation work.

Services offered

Quality control

If you want your content quality controlled, you may want to hire a second “review vendor”. Think of quality control like having an editor review a writer’s work.

Scalability and risk mitigation

If you have a large volume with tight timelines, consider working with multiple vendors

Step 4: Create a request for input (RFI)

Briefly introduce your needs (content, services, volumes, and languages) to a few vendors

Collect information about their linguistic capabilities, such as:

Services and languages – a list of linguistic services, including speciality or expert areas

References – a list of two to three professional references, including contact information

Cost estimate – estimated cost per language and content type. Pricing is typically per word for translation, and per word or hourly for review

Step 5: Shortlist vendors

Determine which vendors best suit your localisation needs. Consider if they offer the services and languages your team requires. Also think about how interested they seem in working with you, for example how responsive they were during your initial scoping.

Step 6: Create a request for proposal (RFP)

Create a request for proposal (RFP) and send it to your shortlisted vendors. Your RFP should:

Outline the information you need – what exactly are you expecting from your shortlisted vendors in their response?

Information you need from shortlisted vendors

Vendor overview

This could include:

Languages

Sample clients

Areas of expertise

Location(s)

Number of employees

Quality processes

This could include information about the vendor’s methodology, and the remediation process in case of issues.

Timelines

This could include information about turnaround time needs, and the process in case of timeline slippage missed deadlines.

Resources

This could include:

Typical linguists’ background

Number of linguists employed or contracted by the vendor

Location of linguists

Training provided

Performance management

How they assign their supplier costs

Organisation support

This could include information about your points of contact, including if you’ll have a dedicated project manager and what timezone they are in.

Systems

This could include:

What platforms they use

File types supported

If they provide support for integrating with your platforms

If you’ll need to dedicate resources on your end

If they charge for integration

Cost estimate

You could:

Ask for the cost per word / language / content type

Check if they provide discounts for using Translation Memory software

Ask if there are any additional costs e.g. in project management, post-processing, review, etc

Tip

Request the vendor gives a sample. Provide sample content and request that a linguist representative of who’ll work on your projects perform the translation. Ensure you have two or more people on your team who can validate the results.

You’ll need a contract for any vendor you choose to work with. Include services and KPIs in your contract so you can hold your localisation team accountable to certain standards. Use the following KPIs as a starting point and identify improvements over time.